Air cooling system for tents or canopies



1952 w. J. ROGERS AIR-COOLING SYSTEM FOR TENTS OR CANOPIES 2 SHEETSSHEET 1 Filed Jan. 21, 1950 INVENTOR. IV/4404M J Foams Jan. 8, 1952 w. J. ROGERS 2,581,709

AIR-COOLING SYSTEM FOR TENTS 0R CANOFIES I Filed Jan. 21, 1950 2 Sl- EETSSHEET 2 I I l l I l I l l I I I I I I l l l l I I I I I I I l l l I I l l l Y JNVENTOR. 56 {Wu/HM J/Poama Patented Jan. 8, 1952 UNITED STATE AIR COOLING SYSTEM FOR TENTS OR CANOPIES 1 Williafii J. Rogers, Brooklyn, N. Y. ApplicationJanuary 21, 1951 Serial No. 139,879 2 claims. j (01. 62-12% 1. The invention relates to air conditioning units and in particular to a type adapted for -uscin connection with oxygen tents or in restricted areas of like nature. p i I The present type of air cooling systemhas been found unsatisfactory in its application to oxygen chambers or the like as used in' hospitals 'or' homes where oxygen therapy is employed. While my invention is described in conne'ction with this type of use, it is evident that the novel'fe'atures thereof can be applied to any air conditioning equipment deemed desirable; the use of an air conditioning unit as used with an oxygen tent being bywayof offering one of the best instances in which it can be used.

-In 'a-hospital where an air conditioning, unit is used with different oxygen tents and circulates the air breathed by patients having different.

diseases often of a contagious respiratory character, an important factor is the maintenance of a sterile condition in the aircirculating unit. Filters are employed but the type necessary to do the work effectively also impede the flow of air and reduce the eficiency' of the air cooling unit by retarding the flow. The use of inefficient? r 1 gene t l r s lt n t te i we: air sweeping over the outer rough surface of the cooling coil itself and also stagnating in the direct Contact with the cooling coil orjth walls of the chamber in which the coil and its asso-' ciated parts is housed'and one in whichfor the sake of minimum noise and vibration may use a small motor and air circulating blower that would not ordinarily be sufficient if used with units in which airfilters of emcient structure are employed;

' A further object of the invention is to provide a unit in which the circulated air cannot enter pockets or corners to deposit foreign matter but instead will circulate through a smooth duct which can be thoroughly cleaned and sterilized after use by each patient, if necessary, with a minimum of time and eflort. I

{A still further object is to provide a unit in which the air cooling unit is not bathed directly 2 by the air being circulated. In present day units if the temperatures :of the coils is below 32? F condensation gradually freezing thereon lowers the efficiency of the coil as a coolingunit and lessens; the circulation of the air. The latter remains in the lower part of the chamber and is not circulated and deposits the bacterialaden particles as beforementioned. Due to the shape and construction of my unit the flow of air is uniform and moves with greater velocity so that freezing is obviated even at comparatively low temperatures applied totl le duct through which.

the air passes, and a naximum amount of moisture will be condensed leaving the air drier.

Other objectsoi my invention are to produce an, airduct having an effectively placeddrain} so that odor emitting bacteria laden stagnant water cannot collect in the air passage; chain which all refrigerant circulating lines and associated parts are isolated from the circulatory system so that gas or fumes accidentallyescaping cannot do any 'damage' and one-which canbe encased a portablecontai-ner to hold the tent structure and be readily movable about with little manual effort 7 With these and other objects in view, the. invention comprises certaineconstruction herein-1 after described and then particularly pointed out in the claims and. a preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which: p g I.

Figure 1 is a View in elevation showing an air conditioning apparatus being broken away. to

show the air dreaming unit and its relation to the cooling system, I

Figure 2 is an exterior view of the air condittioningor cooling unit showing the mounting of the upper connection ducts and the associated blower parts, v

Figure 3 is an enlarged view in elevation with some'of the parts being broken awayto disclose which oxygen is supplied in the Well known man-&

contained in an insulating material l6 such as ground cork or other suitable substance. The duct is cooled by a coil surrounding a portion thereof, the coil forming part of a cooling system of any well known type including the usual compressor l8, condenser l9, fan and the necessary control instruments and electric circuits controlled from a panel board 2| mounted in a convenient location in the cabinet I0.

The particular type of cooling system in itself is not an important part of my invention, the latter being directed particularly to the construction of the cooling unit M which is positioned on suitable brackets in the cabinet I!) so that the ends of the duct extending out of the cabinet can be connected in any suitable airtight manner to the material l3 of the tent or canopy.

The circulation of the air about a patient and through the cooling unit duct gradually causes a deposit of bacteria laden lint, dust and other foreign matter to accumulate on the inside of the duct and the blower, and in order that these may be kept clean they are so arranged and constructed that they can be readily taken apart for cleaning. Reference is made to Figure 3 in which the cooling unit housing l4 made of any suitable material is filled with the insulating material l6 packed about the U-shaped duct l5 of relatively large diameter. The upper ends of the duct protrude through the top 22 of the housing l4 and are designated the intake and output ends 23 and 24 respectively. The end 24 fits snugly into the depending end 25 of a blower intake elbow 26 which, through the medium of a flanged end 21, is detachably secured by bolts 28 to the inlet side 29 of a blower housing 30, mounted on the top 22 through a'suitable bracket or support.

The blower housing or frame 30 comprises a cylindrical chamber closed at its opposite sides by the side plate 29 and a side plate 3| each having shouldered portions 32 that seat in the opposite open sides of the housing and abut sealing rings 33 that render the blower chamber leak proof so that all of the air drawn in by the bladed blower or impeller 34 through the intake 26 is discharged through an outlet pipe 35 or nozzle formed integrally with the housing 30 at any convenient place on the periphery thereof as at the top, as herein shown. The end of the pipe 35 that extends out of the unit M to be attached to the tent material may be conveniently situated adjacent the projecting end of the intake extension 23A of duct 23 and while one position of the unit I4 is shown, it can be placed in any position in the cabinet ID as desired.

The impeller 34 is removably secured to a shaft 36-which passes through the boss portion 31 of the side plate 3| on which is mounted bearing rings 38 of plastic or other suitable material in which anti-friction bearings 39 may be molded or otherwise held. The rings 38 are separated by spacer sleeves 40 on stud bolts 4| extending from the boss 31 of plate 3| and provide room for a pulley 42 on shaft 36 driven by a, belt 43 from a motor 44 which is mounted in any convenient manner adjacent thereto. The side plates or discs 29-and 3| constituting covers for the blower housing are connected by bolts 45 having wing nuts 46 and mounted in radial slots 41 at the periphery of said plates. The exposed portion of duct 24 below the elbow 26 is covered with a sleeve 48 of insulating material in order thereof by the cooling coil l1 whose convolutions are pitched downwardly to return any oil collecting therein into the compressor crankcase. A

trap 5|] is included in an outlet pipe 5| leading from the lowest point of the loop end of the duct to the exterior of the unit M to deposit condensation ina drip pan 52 that is removably mounted in the cabinet ID in any suitable manner. The refrigerant tubing of the coil is of noncorrosive metal and is connected at its upper ends through the refrigerant control valve 53 to the refrigerating liquid line 54 and at its lower ends is joined through the connection 55 to the suction side 56 of the circulating system 54. A door 51 in the wall of unit l4 provides access to the interior of the unit I4 for necessary adjustment or replacement of the parts. In order that the air to be cooled may be forced into contact with the cooling wallof the duct the latter is provided in its upright portions with a removable swirling device such as a spiral 58 of light twisted metal (Fig. 4).

My invention is to be restricted to the precise details of construction shown since various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention or sacrificing the advantages to be derived from its use.

What I claim is:

1. An air conditioning unit adapted to be maintained in a sanitary condition including a housing, a filler of insulating material for the housing, an air duct of relatively large diameter presenting an unbroken smooth interior wall for easy cleaning, a refrigerant conveying pipe coiled about the major portion of said duct, said duct and said pipe being solidly embedded in said insulating material, the ends of said duct and the ends of said pipe protruding from said-hous- 2. An air conditioning unit adapted to be maintained in a sanitary condition including a housing, a filler of insulating material for the housing, an air duct of relatively large diameter presenting an unbroken smooth interior wall for easy cleaning, a refrigerant conveying pipe coiled about the major portion of said duct, said duct and said pipe being solidly embedded in said in-.

sulating material, the ends of said duct and the ends of said pipe, protruding from said housing. a blower, forcirculating air through said duct, means for circulating a refrigerant through said pipe, extensionson the protruding ends of said duct detachable therefrom to permit access to said duct for cleaning the interior thereof, said duct being shaped to provide straight end portions and an air swirling means positioned 5 in the straight end portions of said duct and removable through the protruding ends thereof for cleaning.

WILLIAM J. ROGERS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number 1,884,898 Y 1,909,227 5 2,104,589 2,170,992 2,170,993 2,186,562 2,240,760 2,282,373 

